Microlearning and ICC World T20

The ICC World T20 is the current hot topic in drawing rooms across the world. The mighty Australians could not make it to the semis despite giving a tough fight. They might not have had a great tournament, but possess the ability to bounce back. After all this, you must be wondering what the game of cricket has got to do with corporate training. Well, it is not the game, but the trending T20 format of the gentleman’s game shares a few common aspects with one of the hottest e-learning trends.

Apart from the international cricketing nations, cricket had no great viewers (like it has now) when it was first played decades ago. There was only the test match format in the form of a 6-day game (later reduced to 5 days; duration: 40 hours). With time, the shorter one-day format evolved (duration: 8 hours) which increased viewership due to its brevity and engaging aspects. Not long ago, the shortest format of the game, twenty-twenty cricket came into existence (Duration: a little more than 3 hours). This format increased viewership dramatically and people of different ages from all around the world have started enjoying the game due to its short time span and highly engaging aspects. It has become so popular that even matches of local teams in other nations attract viewers. It’s this nature of T20 cricket that makes me compare it with one of the latest e-learning trends, Microlearning.

T20 Cricket –Microlearning

When you consider a microlearning module as a T20 match, learners as the spectators, and the game as the content, you come across the following similar advantages.

Brevity

T20 matches can conveniently be scheduled even late in the evenings as they take only a little more than 3 hours to finish. So one can find the time to watch the game despite their tight schedules or after a tiresome day. Similarly, microlearning consists of micro modules, each not more than 5 minutes. This helps learners find time even in their tight schedules. For example, a lengthy product sales training might be not an ideal option to train the ‘always-on-the-go’ sales employees. Short microlearning modules help them successfully complete the e-learning most of the times. A sales person can access and complete a couple of micro modules in a restaurant while his food arrives; or he can access them on the way to meet a prospect. Also, many learners might possibly dropout of lengthy courses if they feel bored like they do in test and one-day matches.

Engaging

Due to the limited time in a T20 game, players tend to discover creative game playing techniques to score as many runs as possible. This attempt brings excitement, fun, and entertainment for the viewers and they completely enjoy the 3 hours of the game. Similarly, to make the learning material short and digestible, e-learning designers tend to be creative and communicate the message visually than just using bland text. Such visuals make it an engaging and fun learning experience for the learners. For example, a traditional product training course may include all the content regarding the product with a lot of content onscreen. But a micro module contains only specific information about the product with more visual content.

Location convenience

The short time duration of T20 cricket makes it possible for viewers to enjoy most of the match while they enjoy a large pizza in a pizza house with friends; share a drink with colleagues in a pub; or while they dine with their family in a restaurant. Similarly, microlearning makes it possible for the learners to access the micro modules wherever they are – while enjoying a large pizza in a pizza house; having a drink in a pub; or while dining in a restaurant.

Device convenience

Viewers may prefer watching T20 matches on their Smartphones while they are out as it takes only a few hours and costs less. But watching test matches or one-day matches on a Smartphone consumes a lot more time and money. Similarly, traditional e-learning courses take a long time and learners may not complete them when they are out of the office. But leaners can access microlearning modules on their personal devices such as Smartphones or tablets even when they are out.

Cost Effective

There are many instances when two T20 matches were played one after the other at the same stadium. This helps save a lot of cost for the organizers of the matches. Similarly, creating microlearning modules costs less than creating one long e-learning course. So microlearning is beneficial not only for learners, but also for the organization.

All these benefits of microlearning take the learning experience to the next level just like T20 cricket took the cricketing experience. But like you have different playing styles and different game plans for playing T20 cricket, you have different design, instructional, and visual strategies for designing microlearning courses.

I could make out these similarities between T20 cricket and microlearning. Do you have any more advantages to share?